[ ] sicko was absolutely necessary in topic title

Just a heads up for those interested. Found out APT popped up a little Ironman promo video last month with (sparse) highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSDtQvvKbQk

Watching it, I realize, a lot of people were probably rooting for a fellow countryman to win this event. There were a about a dozen APT/APPT main event regs who must have been heavy favorites to take down the record. At the same time, by the time we got to four handed, 90 percent of the onlookers were Korean. Cause there were two Koreans left and Manila has many Korean baccarat and poker enthusiasts. Americans in Manila that I want to hang out with? could count on my hand. Best friend there is Canadian--he designed the Full Tilt software (had nothing to do with operations).

When we got three handed it was me, the Trickett-esque aggressive Choi Byung Kyoo, and a very capable German Sandro Simon (who is apparently an online maniac). Simon had jumped his way Merson-esque from like three big blinds to being a serious contender on the 2-hour bubble, with 19 players left. That to me is the sign of a good player. He busted the crafty Korean Dae Hoon Lim when his nines rivered trips all-in pre flop versus Lim's pocket jacks. I then got a siiiiick hero call from Simon in a hand I talk about in the Pokerfuse articles. And the heads up ended in the most unbelievable way possible––some people simply cannot go on forever (Lim must be 55?). This was true endurance poker.

BTW at the mike at 36:34:30 is Lloyd Fontillas who used to manage things at Bay 101.

Lol ya this whole thread is a sick brag IMO. Before creating this the OP actually bumped a year old thread posting about this tournament and asking if he had won the deepest tournament of all time and talking about how he now gets mad respect from pros.

he starts at post #29

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/10...66/index2.html

from post #36 lol "Leverage what little distinction my win of that historic tournament offers into a regular ultra-deepstack endurance event."

Truth is OP is prly a good guy and not meaning to come off this way, it sounds like he legitimately developed a passion for this format after his win and he just wants to promote it. But damn if it doesnt come off as a very sick brag.

Just realized I was totally wrong and OP actually made this before posting in that other thread. jokes on me.

my point still half way stands?.?.?

Sorry about that. The logic that led me to reposting about Ironman (basically I am a writer, so I am excited to have an interesting story) was that I thought about the 100k deep structure recently. I've been covering the WSOP events this year and come to appreciate live MTT structure a lot more than I used to. So it suddenly hit me that this Ironman tournament was an historic one, more so than simply being the gimmicky record breaking "longest continuous" event. In that it was the deepest structured NLHE tourney ever held, at least past a certain MTT threshold of participants and buy-in (115 players, $700).

I then googled the "deepest tournament structure ever" or something like that, and came to a 2+2 Las Vegas Lifestyle thread on deepest structured tourneys in Vegas. I asked the regs and they said that the one I played indeed was the deepest structured tourney. I got a lot of good momentum going for this type of event through being at the WSOP (covering and playing a bit) over the course of 5 weeks, and thought I might as well update the thread I started. There is a bit of a promotional element here, admitted.

I am sorry for sharing this stuff if it comes off as bragging, I just appreciate the chance to share my stories, when they border on news and gossip. I like when people write their cool experiences. Wish Negreanu and Ivey and Colman were sharing their stories here, but they don't seem to be (thank god for Yamron, a human being). I get bored of generic or ironic posts and like a little meat on my "poker news & views" bone.

What interests me about the tournament is that, in this era of statistics like GPI, which is the equivalent of baseball statistics (tournament poker has come of age?) deepness of structure (rather than number of participants or prize paid out) does not really seem to be a major ranking factor. But many live players argue that a ratio-based combination of structure and number of players is what really matters. As well as, on the individual level, the number and type of tournaments entered.

I know there is a certain Roger Maris quality to what I accomplished (if Roger Maris was around in the early 20th century, which is where tournament poker is, developmentally) and no one really cared. At the same time, I know that some people get into statistics. I talked with quite a few at the WSOP. I wasn't so sure about how respected APT is, but I know in the Philippines I only play their events (not Pokerstars APPT) because they are so on top of things, organizationally. I wasn't surprised to learn recently that Tom Hall is the company head.

I think I may come off as egoistic because I don't take poker all that seriously, beyond the strategic and human drama level. I used to enjoy freewheeling posts and replies, and 2+2 is a bit of the equivalent. People from so many backgrounds play poker. Now I do take this novel I just finished very seriously, but that is well beyond the scope of the forum.

In California, a radio station held a contest where contestants had to drink water without going to the bathroom. A woman died, sued, and her family was awarded $16,900,000.


http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/jury-rules...ory?id=8970712

You don't think something similar could happen if someone died from playing in one of these iron man poker tournaments?

Here's a recent story about a guy who died from staying up several days in a row to watch the World Cup.

It's true that USA is so lawsuit happy that such an occurrence is within the realm of possibility. I believe that MMA does take place in the US, as does NASCAR, football, and many other "dangerous" sports.

I am assuming that waivers would take care of liability, if participants went into the event informed of what was at risk . A physical could easily be a mandatory part of the event. EMT and physicians at hand would be standard, as would regular checks of bodily functions as the tourney ran past say 24 hours.

I am not saying that there is not an element of danger. But players are free to take breaks, naps, etc. I can think of a million other activities, from crossing the street in Vegas to skiing that are far more dangerous.

Its official I like the OP. While he does come off as braggy, he seems like a good dude.

It is a little iffy on the topic of liability, but the organizers of the tournament are not saying, hey stay up this long and win this, or you have to stay up this long in order to win, or the person that stays up the longest wins. The players are allowed to take breaks. Yes they are at a disadvantage by doing so but they do not automatically lose by taking a nap. I dunno where that puts the people throwing the tourney in terms of liability, I just don't think its the same as the radio station example.

As far as the Guinness Book goes, I know they stopped recognizing the category of the longest amount of time with out sleep because of health concerns, but this is just the longest continuous tournament, again there is no rule saying you can not sleep.

OP, so I take it that is you at the end of the video?

Yeah.. what was left of me...

I thought it was a little odd that APT took the time and effort of holding this event (and they have a great photographer) and produced so few end materials from it. The interview they did with me was laughably funny, which is what originally led to me writing the Pokerfuse articles.

In fact, how little this was covered by the mainstream poker press was the original impetus for this thread. It was as if the poker media had their hands full being on the jock of shallow-structured shove fests and whatever their affiliate sponsors wanted covered. instant poker celebrity? buy your way in.

This made me lol. Someone on drugs is much more unpredictable than someone sober. I've seen the most random plays from people on drugs.

And this thread belongs in BBV. Please move it so OP gets exactly the kind of responses he deserves. He is bragging that he thinks he won the most "skilled" tournament in poker. You ran good and luckboxed a donkament. Just because most people play worse when they are tired doesn't mean you are a great player. It's not healthy to stay up for this long and therefore a tournament with this structure is not good for poker.

There is that view. When people play unpredictably, I widen my range in certain situations. A lot. And at the same time tighten up.

"luckboxed a donkament"... I would say the opposite. I was all-in with tournament at risk exactly once before the heads up... over the course of 48 hours. This was directly related to the structure, not the fact that I Jamie Golded 35 flips. Sure you are not the guy who referred to mrGR33N13 as a "fish on a heater?

Good response to my post OP. Please enlighten us as to why a 50 hour poker tournament with no breaks is good for poker. You said you missed 1.5 hands every time you went to the bathroom. So whoever has a stronger bladder gets an edge because they see more hands. Whoever drinks less fluids will have to go to the bathroom less, and they will see more hands. And not to mention if you don't drink enough fluids you will become dehydrated/delirious after being awake for this long. The whole idea of this tournament is asinine.

the "drink more fluids, drink less fluids" debate has been going on for decades.

Ok Phil Hellmuth. No, I'm not that guy. I said that I thought he was going to win the one drop before he even made the FT. 50 hours of live play is a very small sample size to display skill. Variance was on your side for this tournament you cannot deny this.

I dont deny variance.

There are different degrees of variance. For the limited number of deep structured tournaments I play, my results have been pretty good. I don't go out looking for backers and I don't have a lot of money to burn, therefore I do not play many deep-structured tournaments. I do about as well in low buy-in flipaments that skip levels as anyone else.

I get excited by deep structured poker, it was hell being at WSOP and not playing Main Event this year. But I didn't get the winnings in the couple side events I played to make it happen. Kindling, fire. Not this time. Philippines has been ideal for honing live skills, as deep-structured tourneys cost about half to buy into as in US.

will this ever be done again?

OP is basically saying it is a test of endurance poker. So people play like that if they are in a juicy cash game, and this is the public test of that skill, in the same way as more conventional tournaments are (supposedly) a public test of general poker skill.

Exactly.. someone finally keys into my point.

It was definitely a skill I did not realize I had, as I have never had a bankroll for (or interest in) cash games at stakes that mattered. So in a way, Ironman was a chance to find hidden talents, while risking only $700 (vs. entire bankroll).

Re: will it ever be done––covering the WSOP gave me the chance to mention my concept of a regular deep structure Ironman (not the shallower varieties at LAPC or, surprisingly, this year's Venetian Deep Stacks III) to a number of top pros and/or movers and shakers.

I think it is much likelier to happen in Macao, timed to the tournaments there. I did mention it to Rono Lo's secretary and we had a nice half hour discussion. I think they may have other things on their plate to think about at the moment.

There might be some sick Las Vegas promotors willing to handle such an event. In many ways, I'd like to keep it separate from the WSOP, as the RIO is such a pedestrian environment, no matter how they dress it up. It's very far from casual gamblers and visitors who might like to watch. Lets put a little excitement into it, set it up in a dope environment--007 Martini lounge works (see APT youtube vid).

The idea of a physical for poker players made me chuckle .

If you're allowed 2-4 hour naps this doesn't seem all that hard, especially if you're taking adderall

Was Phil Laak in this tournament? Probably too small of a buyin to attract him. I could see him crushing in this format.

The main event has all the positives with none of the negatives.

Also all the people who are sitting at the table in this format when stacks are 100k and blinds are 25-25 and an hour long are huuuuuuge fish. You're 4kbb deep even if this wasn't an iron man I'd register and then go play cash the first day like your hourly at McDonalds will be higher than your hourly ev playing 4kbb deep in a $700 tourney.

Not everything in poker is about money. Admittedly, a higher buy-in and prize pool sounds nice. This is where the Ironman format needs to have sponsors, who can kick in some insane top prize (in addition to unimaginable glory).

Or a certain number of Super high roller entrants who enter for the sake of charity and build the prize pool. It is not so far-fetched.. 11.111% to charity on each One Drop entry is umm.. $70,000 donation beyond the 4% that should be standard.

All this ultimately depends on how deep structured Ironman is perceived - as a gimmick or as a poker endurance test. My perception of it certainly changed from the time I heard of the event and the 48 hours of actually experiencing it. And that was without all the buildup I have been providing

If it's not about the money run in an iron man race. Do things that actually benefit you physically rather than sitting in a chair nonstop. Or better prop bet about a super long cash session. People already late reg biggish events when they start with 300bb because the ev of playing that deep isn't high. Adding more money to the prize pool won't change the fact that 40kbb poker is just pointless in a tournament format.
The main event is an endurance test without the sleep deprivation. You play 10 hours/day for an entire week mostly deep stacked cash-style poker. Please explain the benefits of an ironman event over the structure of the main event.